PSL Expansion Auction Concludes as FKS and OZ Developers Secure New Franchises

ISLAMABAD: The Pakistan Super League expansion auction concluded on a high note at the Jinnah Convention Centre as FKS and OZ Developers emerged as the successful bidders for the seventh and eighth franchises, respectively, marking a major commercial milestone for the league ahead of season 11.

The bidding for the seventh PSL team witnessed intense competition among several corporate groups before FKS sealed ownership with a final bid of PKR 1,750,000,000, making it one of the most expensive franchise acquisitions in the league’s history. Following the conclusion of the bidding, FKS owner Fawad Sarwar confirmed that the team will represent Hyderabad as its home city, bringing PSL cricket to the region.

Soon, it switched to the eighth franchise auction. The bidding opened at PKR 1,700,000,000. This competition soon turned into a three-way battle between Aim Next, Inc., i2c, and OZ Developers, with the bid progressively escalating after a few rounds of competition.

In the final stages of the auction, OZ Developers offered PKR 1,850,000,000 and won the right to own the eighth PSL team. The winning offer was the highest bid recorded in the expansion auction.

At 06:30 PM, the eighth team’s identity was formally confirmed. OZ Developers owner Hamza Majeed, after acquiring the franchise for a record Rs 1.85 billion, announced that the team will represent the city of Sialkot, adding another historic cricketing centre to the PSL map.

The auction process was conducted under regulations issued by the Pakistan Cricket Board, which required all bids to be placed in Pakistani Rupees and enforced a minimum incremental increase of PKR 10,000,000. Each bidder was permitted one strategic timeout per round, while bidding concluded only after the auctioneer’s final call went unanswered.

In addition to franchise ownership, the successful bidders were granted the right to select home cities from a PCB-approved list that included Faisalabad, Rawalpindi, Hyderabad, Sialkot, Muzaffarabad, and Gilgit.

With both franchises now sold for a combined total exceeding PKR 3.6 billion, the PSL expansion auction has set a new benchmark for franchise valuation and highlighted the league’s growing commercial appeal ahead of season 11.